Dephlegmator



Dec. 16. 1924. 1,519,719

. C. BRANDQN DEPHLEGMATOR Filed July 19, 1922 epamlzr Patented'De'c. 16,

' UNITED STATES 1,519,719 PATENT OFFICE.

DAVID CHARLES BRANDON, OF BALIKPAIPAN, BOBNEO, DUTCH EAST INDIES.

DEPHLEGMATOB.

Application filed July 19, 1922. Serial No. 570,103.

straight run gasoline from crude oils con-..

taining water. The production of straight run gasoline decreases inproportion to the increase of the water content of the crude oil to betreated, and the products requiring redistillation increase quickly,which causes the capacity of the manufacture to be diminished, for thestills which could be used for other purposes have now to serve asredistillate stills. Obviously the fuel consumption Will also increase,while also the large stock of gasoline requiring redlstillation willconstitute a great danger to the refinery.

The dephlegmator according to this invention possesses the .followingadvantages over similar apparatus already known.

1. All the parts subjected to incrustatlon .or breakageare easilyaccessible without (i18 mantling the apparatus.

2. The composition of the distillates produced can for each compartmentof the ap-. paratus be regulated exactly and very simply by means ofsteam and watertaps arranged on the apparatus.

The dephlegmator according to my invention comprises a vertical columnprovided with two or more superimposed horizontal cooling compartmentsseparated by vapor chambers adapted to be heated, the said coolingcompartments preferably consistlng of groups of pipes closed at theirouter ends by removable covers or headers extending from the column.These headers or covers are provided with inlet and outlet conduits forthe cooling liquid and the vapor chambers between the coolingcompartments are provided with baflle plates through or around which thevapors can pass in their upward travel. In a preferred embodiment theballleplatesare provided with tube shaped vapor outlets, the openingsbeing above the outletsfor the condensates formed in'the va or chambers.

giy invention will be more readily understood if reference is made tothe accompany,- ing drawin which illustrate an embodiment thereo In thedrawings, wherein similar reference numbers indicate identical parts,Fig. 1 is a vertical section of the dephlegmator while Fig. 2 is avertical section along the line II-II of Fig. 1.

The apparatus comprises a vertical column divided into superimposedchambers a, b, c, d

and 6, Of these, the chambera consists of a horizontal coohngcompartment 1, which crossesthe part 2,3 of the vertical column.

The cooling compartment 1 is formed by cooling pipes mounted in theperforated plpe-plates 4; and 5. These pipe plates are covered by theremovable arched covers 6 and 7 which extend from the column. In thecover 6, which is provided with ahorizontal bafiie plate, two openings 8and 9 are provided which serve for the inlet and the outlet of thecooling medium. The uppermost end 2 of the vertical column is closed bya dome, which has a central tube 11, provided with a flange forattachment to a cooler.

The compartment 12 comprises a vertical cylmden 12, provided at bothends with flange rings for connecting to the vertical cylinder pieces ofthe compartments w, c

'res ectively.

etween the compartments a and b, a sheet iron plate 13 is arranged, fromwhich a dish 14 is suspended by bolts. The plate 13 has in the middle anaperture 15 through which the vapors can pass to the cooling chamber 1,and in the dish 14 four smaller apertures 16 are made to this end,preferably close to the edge of this dish.

e compartment 0 1s similar to the compartment a. The compartment dforming the, lower part of the vertical column, is provided with aflanged tube 23 for connecting a separator used for removing the liquidfrom the-vapors coming from the still. A.

late 24 with central opening 25 is arranged, between the compartments 0and d,

The compartment e serves as a base for the dephlegmator, and accordingto a pre- 'tube 26, the reason for this arrangement being hereinafterexplained, The other end 36 of the U-shaped tube 26 is openandterminates inside the dephlegmator, whilst on the curve of the said tubeis arranged an upward hollow projection 35.

Separating the compartments d and e is a plate 38 having a conical orflared plate 30 attached thereto, the diameter of this latter beingsmaller than that of the dephlegmator column so that vapors formed inthe compartment e, as will be hereinafter de scribed, may ascend betweenthe edge of this plate and the wallsof the'column. In

order to allow these vapors to pass from the compartment e, holes 34 areprovided in the late 38.

T e improved dephlegmator works as follows:

The vapors from a still after passing through a separator for removingthe liquid from the vapors, enter the dephlegmator at 23. .Passing'throuh the opening 25 in the plate 24 they reach the undermost row of pipesin the cooling compartment 0 where their flow is interrupted by eachpipe. The condensates fall from the uppermost pipes on to those arrangedbeneath, so that the vapors are not only divided into different streams,but also continue their? way through a rain of condensates. The workingis more efficient than with coolers hitherto known because there are nobaflieplates, thus enabling the vapors to come into close contactwiththe cooling surfaces. Attention must be paid to the fact that thevapors which escape throu h the central aperture 25 are inclined toollow the way with the smallest resistance. The number of tubes to bepassed at the sides being less than at the middle, the vapors could risealong the side portions of the compartment '0. This is, however,prevented by the baffles 33 (see Fi ure 2), the most efficient spacingof whic can be determined by experiment. Q

The heaviervapors formed by the heavy oil gases and steam condense inthis cooler and fall back on the p the opening 25 to the dish 30 andfurther through the ipes 31 and 32 to the bottom of the dep legmator.The condensates having arrlved' at the bottom, the oil will plate 24 andthrough float upon the water so that on the water in the curved open legof the U-shaped tube 26 there is a thin film of oil. In the curve of thetube is the opening 35 for the outlet of the condensate. The quantity ofthe condensate becomin larger, the level of the water in the curvec?open 1e will rise correspondingly, whereas the co umn of liquid outsidewill rise to a greater height, because always more oil will fall downupon the water. Finally the mixture of oil and water will flow offthrough the U-shaped tube to a cooler.

The vapors which have passed the cooling compartment 0 arrive throughthe pipe 21 in the compartment 6 where they encounter the dish 14.Further they pass through the apertures in the dish 14 and the aperturein the plate 13 to the cooling compartment a which works in the same wayas the cooling compartment 0. The vapors, which are not condensed in thecooling compartment a pass through the outletll to a siphon cooler.

The plate 20 does not possess apertures and can be considered as thebottom of the coolerswith the exception of the lowermost cooler. Thelightest substances of the condensate remaining therein can again bevaporized by means of steam. The condensate can pass through the outlet19 to a cooler.

By regulating the steam and watercocks the production of certaindistillates can efiiciently be controlled, e. g. by using a greaterquantity of cooling water the heavier substances of the mixture willcon- -dense, .whereas from the distillate the lighter substances can bevaporized by indirect heating by means of steam. Thus the quality of theproducts can be controlled and the composition is subjected to the willof the distiller.

dephlegmator described above is especially,

adapted for still-batteries, it can'also be used successfully forcondensing the vapors provided by tube furnaces. In that casedephlegmators of simpler construction may be employed.

Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my saidinvention and in what manner the same is to be performed, I declare thatwhat I claim is:-

1. A dephlegmator including a vertical column having a vapor inlet atits lower end and a vapor outlet at its upper end, superposed coolincompartments arranged in said column an each having a group ofsuperposed horizontally arrange tubes, means for introducing a coolingfluid into and discharging said fluid from said tubes, a combined vaporand condensate chamber arranged between said cooling compartments', thelower end of each cooling compartment being open to permit vapors risingin the column to contact with said tubes in their vertical movement andcon densation formed by this cooling to be showered down on thevertically rising vapor, and means for heating the condensate depositedin the combined vapor and condensate chamber.

2. A dephlegmator as claimed in claim 1 in which the ends of the coolingcompartments are provided with removable covers to facilitate thecleaning of said tubes.

3. A dephlegmato-r as claimed in claim 1 in which a plate is arrangedbetween the combined vapor and condensate compartment and the upper oneof said cooling compartments, said plate having an aperture to permitvapor from the combined vapor and condensate chamber to rise into theupper cooling compartment, and the condensate formed in the uppercooling compartment to flow downwardly into the combined vapor andcondensate chamber.

4. A dephlegmato-r as claimed in claim 1 in which a horizontallydisposed plate forms a partition between the upper cooling compartmentand the combined vapor and condensate chamber, said partition beingprovided with an aperture to permit the assage of vapor and condensates,and a ish arranged below said plate and provided with apertures.

5. A dephlegmator as claimed in claim 1 in which the bottom of thecombined vapor and condensate chamber is formed of a horizontallydisposed plate having an upwardly projecting pipe to permit vapor fromthe lower cooling compartment to rise into the combined vapor andcondensate chamber, said last mentioned chamber having a condensateoutlet arranged below the upper end of said pipe.

6. A dephlegmator as claimed in claim 1 in which the lower portion ofthe column is provided with a dish having depending hollow legsextending downwardly into close proximity to the bottom of the columnand adapted to convey condensates from the dish into the lower portionof the column, a substantially inverted U-shaped pipe extending throughthe bottom of the column and having an. inlet leg arranged in closeproximity to the bottom of the column, a hollow inlet projectingupwardly from the last mentioned pipe to permit condensates reaching alevel above said last mentioned pipe to flow into the latter, and meansfor heating tihehlower portion of the column below said In testimonywhereof I aflix my signature.

DAVID CHARLES BRANDON.

